FOOTBALL
1990 Season
As a 6-foot-3 225-pound freshman, he got some prompt playing time with the big guys on Friday nights. He eventually worked his way into the starting lineup on offense at right tackle.
He also made his first varsity tackle in the final game of the season at home against Lynden Christian.
The Pioneers finished with a disappointing 3-6 record, despite having pretty good talent on both sides of the ball.
1991 Season
Ackerman switched from #74 to #75 for his sophomore season, and kept it throughout the rest of his high school career.
He started right away on offense, this time at left tackle, and he also worked his way into the starting lineup as a defensive tackle.
The Pioneers started the season strong with big wins over Blaine (27-14) and Mount Baker (33-0), but a three-game losing streak immediately followed.
At Lynden, the Lions beat Nooksack Valley 25-7, however, Ackerman had his best defensive game of the year with seven solo tackles, including a tackle for loss.
Meridian then traveled to Nooksack Valley, and handed the Pioneers their second loss, 20-6, and Lynden Christian followed up the week after with a 26-7 win.
The 2-3 Pioneers needed to regroup, and they did in a big way.
A narrow 8-7 victory at home against Blaine put Nooksack Valley back in the win column, and evened up its record.
The Pioneers then went on the road to defeat Mount Baker 19-7, and that set up the big showdown with #2 ranked Lynden coming to town.
Nooksack Valley got on the board first behind a 4-yard touchdown run by senior Dave Longoria, but the Lions countered with a 1-yard touchdown quarterback sneak by Colby Jones.
The Pioneers scored again, 11 seconds before halftime, this time through the air on a 48-yard pass from Kevin Bartholomae to Jason Henrie.
That play proved to be huge, but no play was bigger than Ackerman’s following Tim Hanson’s 5-yard touchdown run to begin the third quarter. With the Pioneers up 14-13, the Lynden extra point was blocked by Ackerman, and Lynden trailed by that single point the rest of the game.
In the final home game of the season, the Pioneers just beat the eventual state champions, 14-13.
Nooksack Valley finished the season with a 26-19 road win against Meridian, and the Pioneers finished the season with a 6-3 record, but missed the state playoffs.
For his efforts, Ackerman was named All-League 2nd Team at offensive line, and was named All-League Honorable Mention at defensive line.
1991 SEASON STATISTICS
1992 Season
As a junior, Ackerman continued to grow, now at 6-foot-5, it was hard to not notice him.
What was also easily noticeable was the rest of the newcomers to the Pioneer varsity squad.
It was a long season for the purple-clad ballers, as Nooksack Valley lost its first four games of the season, but only one of them was a league game.
The Pioneers then went on the road (and the ferry) to face WCL newcomer Friday Harbor. Nooksack rolled up 207 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to defeat the Wolverines 27-7. Ackerman also had two quarterback sacks on the day.
Now with a 1-1 WCL record, the Pioneers were ready to go, but so was the rest of the league as Nooksack Valley stumbled its way through the rest of the season, and finished 1-8.
Ackerman stood out, and was named All-League 1st Team at both offensive line and defensive line.
1992 SEASON STATISTICS
1993 Season
Now standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 275 pounds as a senior, Ackerman literally casted a shadow on the rest of the Whatcom County League.
The rest of the team got a year of experience in 1992, and the Pioneers were ready to prove what they were made of.
The season began with non-league losses to defending state champion Eatonville, and an overtime loss to King’s, but the league schedule began with a 35-14 victory over Blaine.
Against the Borderites, the Pioneers rushed for 352 yards, and averaged seven yards per carry, mostly behind Ackerman.
An extremely close game at Lynden Christian followed, as the eventual league champion Lyncs edged Nooskack Valley 14-7.
After a non-league loss to Cedarcrest the Pioneers went back into the league schedule with a visit to Concrete which resulted in a 23-13 victory. Ackerman dominated again, leading the way for 293 yards rushing and a 6.2 average.
The following week at home against Mount Baker ended up being the game that would decide second place in the WCL, and a chance to advance to the state playoffs.
It ended up being the only game all season that the Pioneers didn’t score a rushing touchdown as the Mountaineers won 14-13.
Nooksack Valley took out its frustration the following two weeks, and defeated Friday Harbor 39-0 and Meridian 35-13. In those two games, the Pioneers rushed for 652 yards and eight touchdowns, while averaging almost 7.5 yards per carry. Ackerman was on his game.
He was so-much-so on his game that despite finishing with a 5-5 record, and no trip to the post season, he was named by the coaches the Whatcom County League Offensive Player of the Year. It still remains the one and only time an offensive lineman has won that award.
He was also named All-League 1st Team on the defensive line. A month later more accolades came his way as he was named All-State 1st Team at both offensive line and defensive line.
1993 SEASON STATISTICS
Football Career
It’s safe to say that Ackerman was one of the greatest offensive linemen in Whatcom County history. Pure domination, especially in the run game, he opened up running lanes for the two running backs that led the entire county in rushing at the time, Dave Longoria and Britt Lentz. In 2014 he was named 34th greatest player in Whatcom County history. Despite offers to bigger schools, he decided to join his brother Tom and further his playing career at Eastern Washington University. They were able to play on the offensive line together before Tom was eventually drafted in the fifth round by the New Orleans Saints in 1996. T.J. started since his freshman season and was named All-Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention in 1997 as a guard. The following season he was named captain, but multiple knee injuries was what kept him from his chance in the National Football League. He did end up playing in the CFL in 1999 with the Toronto Argonauts.
CAREER STATISTICS
BASKETBALL
1990-91 Season
He got a little bit of run on the varsity squad, playing in 13 games as a reserve post player. It was a .500 season for the Pioneers who finished at 12-12.
1990-91 SEASON STATISTICS
1991-92 Season
A lot was put onto the broad shoulders of the 6-foot-5 sophomore, who started right away at center, and tied for the team in lead in points with nine in the first game of the season, a 46-42 home win against Lynden Christian.
In the fifth game of the season, T.J. scored 10 points in the third quarter alone to help rally the Pioneers to a 25-5 spurt in the period to erase a halftime deficit, and help lead to a 63-49 victory over Seattle Christian.
Five days before Christmas, he led the Pioneers with a season-high 18 points in a 48-29 victory over Mount Baker to remain undefeated on the season.
After a few losses to Northwest League schools, the Pioneers got back on the winning track behind the 14 points of Ackerman as Nooksack Valley defeated Bellevue Christian, 60-48.
In the following game, the Pioneers gave an uber-talented Sehome squad everything it could handle. Nooksack outscored the Mariners 17-9 in the final quarter, but the comeback fell short at Sehome won 58-57. Ackerman led his team in scoring with 16 points.
They remained undefeated in the Whatcom County League following wins over Blaine and Meridian, but soon slid by losing three league games in a row.
The Pioneers finished second in the WCL, despite not having a Top-10 scorer in the league.
They opened up the district tournament against King’s, who was led by 6-foot-5 center Chad Urie. Ackerman’s defense on him was relentless, and Urie was held scoreless and the Pioneers moved on past the Knights after a 52-35 victory.
Following a district win over Lynden Christian, the Pioneers ultimately fell to Lynden in the district championship game, 67-42, but advanced to the state tournament.
Coach Mike Elsner challenged T.J. before game one of the state tournament, to put the clamps on Highland’s leading scorer, 6-foot-7 260 pound center, Greg Lockwood.
He answered the call, as he helped hold Highland’s big man to just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, and the Pioneers moved on to the second round after a 39-36 win.
Ackerman scored eight more points in the second round, in a 75-51 win over Washougal.
In the semifinal round, Toppenish upended the Pioneers 53-45, and after the contest Ackerman was awarded the sportsmanship medal.
Ephrata ousted Nooksack Valley the following day, 66-44, and the Pioneers ended their season with a 19-8 record.
Ackerman finished the season averaging 8.1 points per game, the third leading scorer on the team behind Troy Slayton (10.4) and Mike Coppinger (8.3).
1991-92 SEASON STATISTICS
1992-93 Season
He returned to the starting lineup at center, and once again the Pioneers jumped off to a blazing start.
He then scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Pioneers go to 7-0 in a 62-55 win at South Whidbey.
He then scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in a 48-35 victory at Bellevue Christian.
Now ranked No. 1 in the Class “A” poll, the Pioneers suffered their first loss of the season when they battled Sehome at Western Washington University. Ackerman dominated early on with the Pioneers jumping out to an 11-3 lead, with him scoring six of those points.
The Mariners then collapsed into a zone to take T.J. away, and Nooksack Valley wasn’t able to connect on the outside shots, and the Mariners won 57-41.
By late January, the Pioneers and Borderites of Blaine were each undefeated in the league, and both ranked in the top three in the state. Nooksack Valley pulled out the 58-50 victory on the road, with help from Ackerman’s eight points.
He then put up a season-high 22 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the field, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds as the Pioneers downed Mount Baker 71-53.
Late in the regular season, despite a 15-point and 14-rebound effort from Ackerman, the Pioneers lost in overtime to Lynden, 51-49, which gave the Lions the final district tournament berth.
Nooksack finished second in the league, and were also headed to the district tournament.
With star forward Mike Coppinger injured heading into the tournament, a lot was put onto Ackerman to help his team out offensively.
He scored a dozen points in each of the first two district tournament games, which the Pioneers won, and they were headed to the district championship game against top-ranked Blaine.
The Borderites won 57-53, but both teams were headed to the state tournament.
In the first round of the state tournament, Nooksack held a 28-27 advantage at halftime against Ilwaco, but played a suffocating defense in the third quarter to grab a double-digit lead before walking away with a 59-51 victory.
Ackerman led the Pioneers with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the second round of the state tournament, but they were ultimately defeated 53-50 by Chelan.
In a loser-out contest against Zillah, Ackerman was saddled with foul trouble early, and was only able to contribute eight points before fouling out. Zillah won the game 78-64 to end Nooksack Valley’s season.
Ackerman finished the season averaging 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds on the season for 19-8 Pioneers. He was also named All-League 2nd Team.
1992-93 SEASON STATISTICS
1993-94 Season
As a senior, he and star guard Vince Anderson looked to be one of the best inside/outside threats in the Whatcom County League.
With Lynden moving up a classification, the Lions traveled to Nooksack Valley to begin the year with a non-league game. An offensive put-back by Rob VanDiest won the game for Lynden, 49-48, despite the 14 points and 21 rebounds by Ackerman.
The Pioneers rattled off six wins in a row following the opening loss, one of them a 49-33 win over Sedro-Woolley in which Ackerman led with 18 points and 18 rebounds.
He then had eight points, four steals and 14 rebounds in a 77-43 league victory over Meridian at home.
Another double-double was earned by Ackerman at home against South Whidbey as he had 12 points and 10 boards in the 73-45 win.
In mid-January Ackerman dominated down-low against Mount Baker, grabbing 20 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end, to go along with 13 points to help the Pioneers to a 64-49 victory.
One night later he hit a put-back shot of his own with 26 seconds remaining to help lift Nooksack Valley in a 52-49 non-league win over Sehome. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
In the final game of the regular season, the Pioneers dismantled Concrete, 93-40, behind Ackerman’s 15 points and 18 rebounds.
It was another second place league finish for the Pioneers, who were then upset by Bellevue Christian in the first round of the district tournament, 59-53. Ackerman posted another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Now just trying to stay alive, Nooksack Valley took out its frustration against Cedarcrest and beat them 57-35. Ackerman scored nine points and hauled in 18 rebounds.
The following Saturday, the Pioneers needed to avenge the earlier loss to Bellevue Christian to get back to the state tournament, but it just didn’t happen. The Vikings had a double-digit lead at the half, and ultimately won 50-38, despite Ackerman’s 10 points and 17 rebounds.
Despite the 17-7 finish, it was not a great year for Nooksack Valley, which felt like it could have done some major damage in the state tournament. Ackerman finished with a scoring average of 9.7 points per game, while also averaging 12.1 rebounds per game.
He was again named All-League 2nd Team.
1993-94 SEASON STATISTICS
Basketball Career
Because of a great football career, it’s easy to forget about his exploits on the hardwood. He was amazingly consistent, and a pillar in the middle for some of the great Pioneer teams of the past. Only five players in school history (Jason Heutink, Tyler Mitchell, Tom Ackerman, Kent Kamphouse and Chris Mitchell) played in more varsity games than Ackerman. His 12.1 rebounds per game as a senior led the county, despite some other amazing big men that season (Rich Taylor, Josh Smith, Davis Kile, Pete Feenstra, Jess Pauley and Josh Intveld).
CAREER STATISTICS
